Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Controlled Release' Of Toxic Chemical Fumes Used On Derailed Ohio Train
The New York Times: Toxic Fumes Are Released From Burning Train That Derailed in Ohio
A rail operator on Monday released toxic fumes from several derailed train cars that it said were at risk of exploding in East Palestine, Ohio, after the authorities ordered residents on both sides of the state’s border with Pennsylvania to evacuate to avoid a deadly threat. ... “We are ordering you to leave,” Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said on Monday at a news conference. “This is a matter of life and death.” He added that there was “grave danger” of inhaling fumes from chemicals produced by the release, which the authorities identified as phosgene and hydrogen chloride. In high concentrations, both chemicals can cause severe and life-threatening respiratory issues. (Hauser and Albeck-Ripka, 2/6)
NPR: Ohio Crews Conduct A 'Controlled Release' Of Toxic Chemicals From Derailed Train Cars
"We know the smoke looked alarming, but we are being told that everything was carried out according to plan," Pennsylvania's emergency management agency said on Monday evening. The agency said environmental monitors had "detected nothing alarming" in air and water measurements. Pennsylvania's governor urged those within the evacuation zone to stay inside. (Kim, 2/6)
On Medicaid coverage in Texas and Pennsylvania —
The Texas Tribune: Texans Brace For End Of Pandemic-Era Medicaid Coverage In April
One day, Alexandria Robertson’s carefully crafted life suddenly started falling apart. She returned from vacation in January 2020 to learn she’d been laid off from her corporate job in the Austin area. Her car was totaled in an accident. At the same time, she found out she was pregnant with her first child. “I was pregnant. I had no job. I had no car. And I had no health insurance,” Robertson said. “I at the time just did not have money for the expenses of having a baby.” (Klibanoff, 2/7)
AP: Resuming Medicaid Case Checks Confronts 3.6M In Pennsylvania
The federal government’s pandemic-era prohibition against kicking people off Medicaid is ending, meaning that hundreds of thousands of people in Pennsylvania face losing the free health insurance in the coming year. Many people who stand to lose Medicaid coverage don’t know the changes are coming, say officials at advocacy organizations who do outreach to the poor. That could mean people — parents of school-age children, for instance — find out they have no coverage when they go to fill a prescription or see a doctor for a sick child. (Levy, 2/6)
In other health news from California, Wisconsin, and Texas —
NBC News: Double Amputee, Anthony Lowe, Killed By Southern California Police Had Mental Health Crisis, Mother Says
A double amputee who was armed with a knife and suspected of having stabbed a passerby had experienced a mental health crisis hours before Southern California police fatally shot him 11 times last month, his mother said in an exclusive interview. (Victoria Lozano, 2/6)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kirsten Johnson, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Who Resigned, Is Appointed Wisconsin Department Of Health Services Secretary
Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson has been appointed Wisconsin Department of Health Services secretary, Gov. Tony Evers announced Monday. Monday is her last day with the city, according to the Mayor's Office. When she announced her resignation in early January, she said March 3 would be her last day. (Hess and Dirr, 2/6)
Dallas Morning News: Fentanyl From A Carrollton Drug House Killed 3 Students, Hospitalized 6, Feds Say
The “one pill can kill” fentanyl epidemic has hit home. Three young Carrollton-Farmers Branch students are dead and six others have been hospitalized in a string of overdoses, most of them since December. Federal investigators say each of these tragedies traces back to a single Carrollton house, located just blocks from R.L. Turner High School, where juvenile dealers as young as 14 picked up the drugs and sold them to classmates. (Grigsby, 2/6)
